EDIT: It's now 1:30 in the morning or so, and I'm about 500 words in. I'm moving quite slowly, since I did very little planning beforehand. Here's what I have so far (I kinda wish this forum had Spoiler boxes now).

Olly's NaNo2011 wrote:The rising sun shone brightly off of the white towers, standing tall above the vast grayness of the plains. Joneris shielded his eyes as a glint of sunlight passed. His small landspeeder was on full-throttle; he figured out in the plains there was no need to cruise at any lesser speed. Flecks of prairie dust barrage the windshield, glancing off into the midday sky, and the occasional clump of odd, wiry grass was seen, flattened in the wake of the passing speeder.Joneris was on his way back to Faror-Alei, one of a handful of semi-prosperous ore mining communities along the Dorsian plains, supplying more major cities and shipyards with the refined materials needed to continue their steady output. He worked as a surveyor, and on this day he was returning with some information on a nearby ore outcropping that had shown potential upon his first pass. How it had remained hidden this long with such a ravenous little mining town nearby, he had no idea, but he was glad he had found it. The pickings had been scarce recently, and he had been afraid for at least a little while that he would have to move down a few floors on his home tower, where the rooms are smaller, dingier, and cheaper.The landspeeder began to slow as it came closer to the city walls, a large splash of faded color against the bleak backdrop of the plains. Joneris groped for a moment in his pocket, looking for his citizen registry as the speeder crawled to a halt in front of a small guard post.“Afternoon, brother.”“Likewise, sister.” Joneris blurted out the words in a monotone; the customary greetings were so ingrained that they required no thought whatsoever.“Registry, if you would please.” The small rubbery slate was passed from one hand to another, and the guard put it under the scanner on her belt. She paused to read the screen, then passed the registry back.“Welcome back to Faror-Alei, Brother Joneris. The gates are open to you.”“Much appreciated, sister. May the Mother smile upon you.”“And so upon all.” Joneris moved the speeder forward, not even waiting for the guard’s response. He had heard it all before, as if the entire meeting had been scripted without anyone realizing it. The gates shimmered back into existence behind him as his speeder navigated itself down two blocks and stopped off at one of the mid-size towers near the edge of the town, powering down and lowering itself slowly to the ground.The Dorsians were a particularly theocratic people. The vast majority of their population worshipped the Mother, a matriarchal Goddess figure that, according to their texts, gave birth to the universe. The Church of the Mother was particularly prominent in the Outlands and other non-central areas of Dorsia; of late there had been much talk of new, radical religious theories rising as a result of the Church’s power.

You know, i actually felt compelled out of nowhere to start writing an epic story about a deadly space pirate crew, and it just so happened to be on the first. Weird how that stuff happens, but I guess I'm participating too!